Seat At The Table Episodes

Tenure of Office: May 15, 1809 - January 1, 1813Rising through the political ranks in South Carolina, Paul Hamilton was called to national service for the first time by President Madison to serve as his Secretary of the Navy. In this episode, I am joined by my husband Alex to explore the life a…

Tenure of Office: March 7, 1809 - January 13, 1813After his service as a surgeon on the battlefields of the Revolutionary War, William Eustis of Massachusetts began a political career which would bring him to serve as the 6th US Secretary of War in the Madison administration. Joined by Craig Ba…

Tenure of Office: January 20, 1807 - December 5, 1811A member of the politically prominent Rodney family of Delaware, Caesar A Rodney was recruited to service in the US House of Representatives by none other than Thomas Jefferson and a few years later was invited to join his Cabinet as Attorney…

Tenure of Office: August 7, 1805 - December 14, 1806After a few initial fits and starts, John Breckinridge propelled himself to become a prominent leader in the state of Kentucky before moving on to the national scene and ultimately into the Cabinet of Thomas Jefferson as the 5th US Attorney Ge…

Tenure of Office: July 27, 1801-March 4, 1809 (as Secretary of the Navy); March 6, 1809-April 1, 1811 (as Secretary of State)Propelled to national office by circumstance, Robert Smith's time in the Cabinet would be a tale of two presidencies. While achieving much success as Jefferson's Secretar…

Tenure of Office: May 14, 1801 - February 8, 1814After being forced out of his post as Treasury Secretary, Albert Gallatin spent the next few decades serving in numerous diplomatic postings abroad, writing essays on various topics, being nominated as Vice-President, and even challenging the pol…

Tenure of Office: May 14, 1801 - February 8, 1814 A descendant of a leading Genevese family, Albert Gallatin made his way across the Atlantic and rose to prominence as a Democratic-Republican leader before being recruited by ...

Tenure of Office: May 2, 1801 - March 3, 1809Picking up where we left off in Part One, join me and my special guest, Kenny Ryan from [Abridged] Presidential Histories, as we examine the remainder of James Madison's tenure as Secretary of State as well as touch on the highlights of his post-Cabi…

Tenure of Office: May 2, 1801 - March 3, 1809Regular listeners of the podcast may have heard of this guy a time or two thus far, but there's still so much more to know about the career of James Madison leading up to his becoming the fifth Secretary of State. In this episode, I and my special gu…

Tenure of Office: March 5, 1801 - March 3, 1805For every figure in American history who is in the spotlight, there is someone who is behind the scenes making it happen. For Thomas Jefferson, one of those folks was Levi Lincoln Sr of Massachusetts. With my special guest, Steve of the Speakcies S…

Tenure of Office: March 5, 1801 - March 4, 1809Revolutionary War veteran, US Representative, Secretary of War, War of 1812 General, US Minister to Portugal - with that accumulation of offices, one would imagine that Henry Dearborn would be better remembered. With my special guest, Steve Guerra …

Year(s) Discussed: 1755-1835As a follow-up episode focused more on John Marshall's lengthy tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, I am joined by Ben Lovelace and Matthew Nichol of the John Marshall House for a discussion on his historical and legal legacy as well as to get a better sense…

Tenure of Office: June 13, 1800 - March 4, 1801John Marshall is a name much better known for where his career led him after serving in the administration of John Adams, but there was still much to discuss with my special guest, Alycia from Civics & Coffee, about his brief tenure as Secretary of…

Tenure of Office: June 12, 1800 - March 4, 1801 (as Secretary of War); January 1, 1801 - May 13, 1801 (as Secretary of the Treasury)Samuel Dexter may have come into the Cabinet towards the end of John Adams's tenure as president, but there was still a good bit for my special guest, Shawn from t…

Tenure of Office: June 18, 1798 - March 31, 1801A merchant and land speculator by trade, Benjamin Stoddert's path to becoming the first Secretary of the Navy was an unconventional one. However, did this unique background contribute to success while in office? With my special guest, Stacey Rober…

Tenure of Office: January 27, 1796 – June 2, 1800James McHenry was the last individual appointed to the Cabinet of George Washington, but would being tapped to head the War Department by the esteemed first President lead to his tenure being viewed favorably by his contemporaries and by the anna…

Tenure of Office: December 10, 1795 – March 4, 1801 Charles Lee served as legal counsel during some of the most notable trials of the Early Republic, but does that mean that his tenure as Attorney General is equally remarkable? With my special guest, Kenny from [Abridged] Presidential Histories…

Tenure of Office: February 3, 1795 – December 31, 1800 Oliver Wolcott, Jr had big shoes to fill when he assumed office as the second Secretary of the Treasury. With my special guests, Lucy and Michelle from Tudoriferous, we explore his life and career to determine whether this member of the Was…

Tenure of Office: January 2, 1795 – December 10, 1795 (as Secretary of War); December 10, 1795 – May 12, 1800 (as Secretary of State) Timothy Pickering’s tenure in the Washington and Adams administrations is arguably one of the most notorious in the early republic. Thus, I had to call on Eric a…

Tenure of Office: January 27, 1794 – August 23, 1795 Though William Bradford wasn’t Attorney General for long, he did have an impact on some key events in the Washington administration. With my special guest for this episode, we examine his life and career to understand what sort of a legacy Br…

Tenure of Office: March 22, 1790 – December 31, 1793 We’ve spent a good amount of time in the narrative talking about Jefferson as the third US president, but in this episode, while also exploring his life and career as a whole, we focus in a bit on Jefferson’s tenure as Secretary of State in t…

Tenure of Office: 26 September 1789 – 20 August 1795 Edmund Randolph served in not one but two positions in the Washington administration – as Attorney General then as Secretary of State. However, will that be enough to earn him a seat at the table of the Cabinet All-Stars? Listen to find out m…

Tenure of Office: 12 September 1789 – 31 December 1794Henry Knox served the United States as a general and as the head of the War Department for ten years, but will his life and career earn him a seat at the table of the Cabinet All-Stars? Listen as we explore Knox’s legacy to find out!

Tenure of Office: 11 September 1789 – 31 January 1795 We begin our new special series with the first Cabinet member to assume office under the constitutional government – Alexander Hamilton! You may have seen the musical, but there are a few more parts of his history that didn’t make it into th…